Arthur followed the receptionist inside the Artifact Refiners Union as she guided him through a quiet inner corridor, one that was noticeably different from the bustling public area outside. The noise of the hall faded behind him, replaced by a quiet area where only a few people in the union's uniform could be seen going around. The deeper he went, the more refined the environment became, until they arrived at a chamber specifically meant for high-value exchanges.
Inside, a middle-aged man stood waiting behind a long table, his posture straight, and his eyes were sharp with the kind of experience that came from decades of evaluating rare materials. The middle-aged appraiser greeted him with a respectful nod, Arthur also didn't waste time on pleasantries.
With a simple motion, he brought out the corpse of the lightning eagle. Even in death, the beast carried an imposing presence, faint arcs of residual lightning still flickering across its feathers, causing the air in the room to become charged.
The man's composed expression immediately shifted into a scrutinizing one. Even without touching it, he could sense the dense lightning energy still lingering within the body, the faint crackling along the feathers making it clear this was no ordinary beast.
He stepped forward slowly, circling the corpse with measured steps as his gaze moved across every detail. "This… is a Lightning Sovereign Eagle," he said after a moment, his tone no longer casual. "And not a young one either. Judging by the residual aura, it was close to peak maturity." His fingers hovered over the feathers, tracing the patterns of energy without making direct contact.
He then examined the severed neck, the density of the lightning attribute, and the intact condition of the body. His expression gradually shifted from professional composure to something closer to genuine surprise.
"This is a rare catch," he finally said, looking back at Arthur. "Even among Great Unity Immortals, very few would attempt to hunt such a beast alone… and even fewer would succeed. The lightning attribute alone makes it rare, but the condition… this is almost perfect."
Arthur watched him quietly, his expression was neutral as always. "How much is the body?" he asked, not interested in prolonging the process.
The appraiser paused briefly before answering, clearly recalculating the value with more care than usual. "For the lightning core, feathers, bones, and usable components… the total value would come to approximately one hundred and thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones."
Even Arthur's eyes widened slightly at that number, which was significantly higher than what he had expected. "…That much?"
The appraiser gave a faint smile. "Lightning-attributed beasts are always in high demand, especially ones at this level. Their materials are extremely valuable for both artifact refinement and cultivation resources. And the fact that it retained so much of its energy after death only increased its worth."
Arthur nodded slowly, accepting the explanation '…No wonder those people at the Great Unity Realm were chasing it,' Arthur thought, recalling the group he had encountered in the forest.
And there was a mercenary alliance in this world too, and most loose cultivators join them to form groups and hunt monsters to earn money. The pay was good so it was logical for people to hunt monsters and sell them.
The transaction was completed without issue. Arthur received the spirit stones, then immediately purchased several books, mostly focused on flora, fauna, and the broader history of the world. He didn't stay in the Union afterward any longer. There was nothing more to gain from staying, and he already had what he came for.
…
By the time he returned to the Spirit Tool Pavilion, the shop was operating smoothly without his involvement. A few customers stood inside, examining artifacts while the attendants he had recruited handled everything efficiently. One of them demonstrated a weapon's function, explaining how to use it in a way that showed clear understanding, while another guided a hesitant customer through different options based on their cultivation level.
Arthur paused briefly at the entrance, observing the scene with approval. Even though he had provided them with the information regarding the artifacts, it was still commendable how quickly they learned everything, so there was no need for him to intervene.
Without disturbing anyone, he moved toward his room and closed the door behind him.
Inside, he placed the books on the table and began reading. He began scanning through them, his eyes moving rapidly across the pages while information flowed into his mind at an accelerated pace. Within a short span of time, he had already absorbed everything the books contained, his memory organizing the details into structured format for future use.
The information about flora and fauna filled in many gaps he had previously worked around through observation alone. Now, the herbs he had collected had names, classifications, and known uses.
Most of them were indeed common-grade cultivation materials, but that didn't make them useless. It simply meant they were foundational resources that supported steady growth rather than explosive breakthroughs. While there were still higher-tier materials and rare classifications missing from these books, the foundational knowledge was now complete.
The historical records were far more interesting. This world was far larger than Thyrandel, at least three times in scale, divided into two major continents along with numerous smaller ones scattered across vast oceans.
The majority of the territory was controlled by sects, each operating with a degree of autonomy, but all of them ultimately fell under the jurisdiction of a larger power.
The Crimson Hall.
Arthur's gaze stayed on that name for a moment. The book didn't provide much detail, but what little it did reveal was enough to establish its influence. It was ranked among the top fifty organizations in the Immortal Realm, with jurisdiction spanning multiple galaxies. Every sect in this world paid tribute to it, functioning under its shadow whether they acknowledged it openly or not.
"That explains their confidence," Arthur muttered quitely, recalling Lu's earlier words.
There was also a rough map included in the book, outlining the major regions and territories. It wasn't precise, but it provided enough context to understand the world's structure. After committing everything to memory, Arthur leaned back slightly, his thoughts settling into place.
"For now… this is enough."
He spent the remainder of the day absorbing spirit stones, letting the steady flow of energy increase his reserves while his mind processed everything he had learned.
…
The next morning, after opening the shop and handing over the keys to the receptionist Arthur left the city once again, heading toward the forest, but this time his objective wasn't exploration. He needed a secluded environment, somewhere he could experiment without restrictions.
Once he reached a sufficiently isolated area, he brought out a spaceship, its metallic structure appearing silently among the trees, completely out of place in the natural surroundings.
He stepped inside, and the interior systems activated instantly. Soft light filled the space, and the lab equipment powered up in sequence.
"Initiate stealth mode," Arthur said calmly.
"Stealth mode engaged," the AI responded.
He had decided to experiment on the herbs he had collected and to find a way to integrate the mana system with spiritual one. But he didn't want to bring out the SOH in this world without understanding this realm better, so he just took out an Epsilon-class ship with all the equipment onboard.
He then moved toward the central workspace, placing the herbs he had collected onto the table. His gaze rested briefly on the Nine-Turn Spirit Grass before he began processing it, carefully extracting its essence with precise control of the high tech equipment present in the lab.
From the books, he now understood its function; it was a cultivation-enhancing herb, capable of strengthening internal energy pathways and accelerating growth. But knowing its purpose wasn't enough. He needed to understand how it interacted with a normal human body.
"Generate a test subject," he instructed.
Within moments a blank human body was created which was unmodified, with no special traits. Arthur observed it briefly before injecting a vial of extracted essence from the Nine-Turn Spirit Grass.
After injecting it Arthur kept his awareness tightly wrapped around the body.
At first, nothing happened. The potent energy spreads through the body naturally, moving without any direction or without resistance. But then, subtle changes began to appear. The energy started gathering toward a central point, instinctively converging toward where a dantian should exist.
Arthur's eyes sharpened slightly, he was quite intrigued with this phenomenon. Even without a dantian, the energy was trying to form one.
But without a proper structure to contain it, the process became unstable very quickly. The energy turned destructive, tearing through the body from within. The damage escalated rapidly, and within seconds, the body reached its limit and exploded.
Before the blood and gore could cover the whole lab Arthur contained the explosion within a confined field. After examining the remains for a bit he burned it.
"…It's too unstable," he muttered quietly, already analyzing the failure.
He created another body, this time with a mana storage system. This body was a bit more robust and he also diluted the essence from the herb so the body was able to store the energy but the spiritual energy started to damage the dantian as it was not compatible to store it. The result changed slightly, the body lasted longer but the outcome remained the same.
Arthur repeated the experiment multiple times, adjusting variables, reinforcing the dantian, refining the process with each attempt. The results improved incrementally, but the core issue remained unchanged.
"…They are not compatible," he concluded.
He paused, his gaze shifting toward the mana crystals and spirit stones placed nearby. Activating both, he observed their interaction carefully.
He found out even though they were not reacting violently with each other they were also not compatible. They were like oil and water, if he forced a mixture of them it would create something unusable. They could coexist, while they remained separate and distinct, but were incompatible.
Arthur leaned back slightly, his thoughts deepening as he processed the implication. This wasn't a matter of opposition, but of system difference. Two energies, functioning on entirely separate frameworks.
The next body he created reflected that realization. It had two separate cores, one designed for mana, the other for spiritual energy. The structure was more complex, but it removed the direct conflict between the two.
Now he faced the real challenge, to guide the two different energies to their respective cores and not mix up. Arthur's gaze was fixed on the test subject as he began constructing a new approach.
His thoughts drifted briefly toward the Aether Energy Reactors within his own body, the system that allowed him to convert multiple forms of energy seamlessly into Aether. If he could replicate even a fraction of that mechanism, the problem would be solved instantly.
But he already knew the answer. Even with all his technology, the reactor remained beyond his full understanding. It operated on principles that exceeded his current level of analysis.
Arthur exhaled slowly, letting that thought settle before pushing it aside. "For now… I will have to work with what I have."
His focus sharpened as he began designing a controlled method to direct energy flow manually, combining his knowledge of runes, formations, and energy systems into something entirely new. He had already created a basic outline of a cultivation system before but hadn't tested it, so now was the perfect time to do so.
The lab remained silent except for the sound from the machinery and his breathing, and Arthur was already laying the groundwork for a system that did not belong to this world.
***
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